Altmans Nomogram

Definition

Health Economics

Mathematically it is quite a complicated exercise to calculate the size of a sample necessary to achieve a given statistical power in trials. Altman's nomogram is a graphical method of assessing the power and statistical significance of a test in a variety of sample sizes. The right-hand vertical axis of the nomogram shows various power values, from 0.05 to 0.995. The left-hand vertical axis represents the 'standardized difference': a ratio that relates the difference of interest to the standard deviation of the observations. There are two axes within the nomogram, one for a significance level of 0.05, the other for 0.01, with total sample sizes indicated on each. The nomogram can be used to evaluate the optimal sample size once the power is specified, the significance level 5 per cent or 1 per cent is chosen, and the standardized difference is calculated. This nomogram can be found on p. 456 of Altman (1991).